Burma 2014

Meeting the People of Yangon The Mon village named Dagon existed on this site since the 6th century A.D. It was renamed Yangon (meaning end of strife ) by the Shwebo King Alaungpaya when he captured it from rebel Mon leaders in 1755. The city

Shwedagon Pagoda Understanding the Historical Buddha Notwithstanding unforeseen travel delays, all Delegates had arrived in Yangon. Our first stop was Shwedagon Pagoda, no doubt the most revered site in all of Burma with a history that began

Meeting at the U.S. Embassy with Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Department of State Our meeting with the U.S. State Department Deputy Chief of Missions, Virginia Murray, left us very impressed with the size and scope of the challenges facing the

The Royal Palace, Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located 445 miles (716 km) north of Yangon on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River, the city has a population of one and half million. Here

Mandalay, a city of horns honking, motorcycles, and ladies with goods piled atop their heads. The second largest city in Myanmar and the former capital. The city is the economic and religious hub of upper Myanmar. A city of culture whose fine

Up again at dawn, we loaded our luggage, a formidable task were it not for the local porters who carried it from the bus down a steep rocky hill to the boat that would be our transportation for the day. We traveled down the Ayeyarwady

Not all of us had the experience of taking a hot-air balloon ride over the ancient ruins of Bagan, but some did and it was a marvelous way to see the still existing 3,000 temples, most of which were built between the 9th and 13th centuries. All

Based on the very interesting discussion yesterday by the U Zaw Weik, Minister of Tourism, we were particularly looking forward to seeing the famous Ananda Temple which is currently under consideration by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. A very

From Mandalay, we flew to Heho Airport, south east of Mandalay, and due east of Bagan. Heho and Inle Lake are in Shan State that borders China to the North, Laos to the East, and Thailand to the South. The air was cleaner and the earth rich

Because there was no other mode of transportation while at Inle Lake, we arrived at and departed from our beautiful hotel by gondola – five of us in each of three motorized gondolas. Non-motorized gondolas are the primary means of transportation

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